Keele scientist to help in the fight against breast cancer

A NORTH Staffordshire scientist is to help in the fight against breast cancer by exploring new ways to treat a common type of the disease.

Gwyn Williams, from Keele University, has been awarded a £20,000 grant to carry out the potentially life-saving research into hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Anti-hormone drugs already halt the growth of this cancer by blocking the activity of receptors.

But Professor Williams said: "Hormone receptor-positive breast cancer can sometimes become resistant to the drugs used to treat it.

"The grant I've received from the Breast Cancer Campaign will enable me to find new ways to prevent the growth of these breast cancers, which could ultimately lead to new ways to treat the disease."

Related content

Up to 80 per cent of breast cancers overproduce the oestrogen receptor (ER), and many also overproduce the progesterone receptor (PR), which drive the tumour growth. The work will see the scientists create short pieces of DNA in the lab which could act as 'decoys', mimicking those which normally bind to these receptors.